Malleable
by emrys-ite
Summary: With the Avatar as his brother in the most hostile anti-bending city in the nation, Tadashi didn't think his luck could get any worse. However, even a genius can be proven wrong. An Avatar: The Last Airbender AU in which Hiro is the Avatar, Tadashi has to save him from pro-bending matches, and neither brother is quite sure how to deal with it all. Updates on Fridays.
1. Chapter 1

Hiro casually entered the dilapidated building, looking for all the world as if he absolutely belonged there. The key was to not make eye contact with anyone, never apologize for anything, and not sidestep people who were coming towards you. Act like you owned the place, and people would believe it - even if you were only fourteen years old and stood at only five feet tall.

He brushed shoulders with a man who was a good foot and a half taller than him, staring ahead as the man growled threateningly. There were all sorts of types that came to the pro-bending arenas, from amateurs looking to just have a chance to bend with others to near professionals who were looking to have some fun and make some cash. Hiro fell into the latter, and had made a good set of winnings from hopping from various arenas across San Fransokyo and assuming different identities at each.

After all, changing personas in the pro-bending circles wasn't all too difficult when you were the Avatar.

Hiro approached a woman who was quite obviously running the matches at the arena and taking bets. Sure, he had registered to compete before coming, but he still had to check in as a solo fighter. Plus, it was always fun to see the look on the showrunner's faces when they realized that they were about to let a kid who looked like he was barely in high school into the ring.

"What do you want, kid?" The woman said, barely flicking her eyes up from her tablet. "I'm busy."

"Hi, um…" Hiro swallowed, allowing his scared kid façade to come through. "I'm here to check in. My name is Hiro Takachiho?" His sentence trailed off into a question as the fake name rolled off of his tongue flawlessly.

She raised an eyebrow, lifting the finger she had been resting on the touch-screen. "You're registered for a match?"

Keeping in line with his act, Hiro nodded hesitantly, handing her the required entry fee that would later be added to the pot of bets. With a skeptical expression on her face, the woman scrolled through the entries on her tablet, eventually tapping one. "You're a firebender?"

"Y-yes," Hiro stuttered, gloating inwardly as he watched the woman suppress a chuckle. This was going to be too easy. Usually the organizers were the best at sizing competitors up so they could play up the bets and make the most money off of the matches, and this one had bought his act immediately. He hadn't expected the naïve kid trick to get him through at this arena, but he certainly wasn't going to take the luck for granted.

"You fight in fifteen minutes. Good luck, kid." The woman spoke, smirking as she sized Hiro up one last time. "You're gonna need it."

Quickly flicking his eyes downward as a sign of submission, he breezed past her and down several flights of carved out stairs into the arena. It wasn't difficult to hide the large pro-bending arenas underground with the help of several powerful earthbenders. The sport had been pioneered in San Fransokyo as a way of giving benders a way to let off steam as well as make some money. It had started as a team sport, but most of the rings around town hosted mainly solo matches since it was difficult enough not being caught by the increasingly aggressive police even without hosting team practices.

As he reached the arena, Hiro was greeted with a mass of people clustered around the border of the viewing area, looking down at the ring slightly below. The rings varied around town, but this one had a simple border as opposed to a full water moat. It was sunken about ten feet below the spectators, with high walls and chain link borders above to contain errant blasts. Currently, two earthbenders were duking it out, sending chunks of the ground below them into the walls and at each other.

Hiro rolled his eyes, slipping around the crowd to the waiting area. So many of the benders that entered these competitions were too full of bravado to realize that they were woefully unskilled. After taking so many of them down several pegs, he was getting tired of the macho attitude and lackluster skills. He realized that he was at a slight advantage both in having hundreds of past lives experience as well as an older brother who was willing to find him training, but he still expected more out of San Fransokyo's top pro-benders.

Finally reaching the small pool of benders on deck, Hiro shifted his weight from foot to foot as he worried the edge of his hoodie. The other benders shot amused looks at him as well as whispers and snide comments. Some were more discreet than others. Hiro heard the usual comments.

"Who's gonna let a kid into the arena?"

"I don't care, as long as I get some money off of it."

"Isn't it past his curfew?"

Running his hand through his hair in what he knew was an obvious nervous gesture, Hiro smiled to himself. This was going to be too easy. He'd finally be able to get enough money to pick up the airbending scrolls he wanted on the black market. Firebending had come easily for him as his first element, and he had been able to find an earthbending tutor through some underground connections. Tadashi, of course, had taught him waterbending since they had first discovered that Hiro was the Avatar. Hiro's older brother had had the benefit of learning from their mother when their parents were still alive, and with some self teaching, had nearly mastered the element by the time he was fourteen.

Their training sessions occurred whenever both of the brothers were home and willing. Hiro had always had trouble with his waterbending because he lacked the patience and tranquility to truly connect with the element like his brother did. Tadashi was a student at one of the local universities, the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. He had managed to become a master waterbender along with balancing his advanced studies in high school, and was studying robotics. Hiro knew that he was trying to build some kind of health robot - he had gone over the schematics and notes on Tadashi's computer while his brother had been at the dojo one day. It seemed that Tadashi had been trying to bring a robot up to par with his own healing abilities. Tadashi had also managed to find a small group of benders on campus, and they had become fast friends. All of them were studying robotics with various emphases, proving that benders could do much more than just bend. It was also a decent front to keep the police from sniffing around.

Hiro mostly stayed at the café, helping out Aunt Cass with running the business and training on his own. He had graduated high school when he was thirteen because along with being the avatar, he was an academic genius as well. When he wasn't training or fighting, he was tinkering with spare parts and doing Tadashi's homework when his brother wasn't looking. Through his pro-bending, he had come to discover most of the black markets and hideaways for benders around the city and had been able to find teaching material that had been passed down for generations. It was difficult to find consistent tutors when everyone was trying to stay hidden. San Fransokyo had one of the largest bending populations anywhere, but also the most aggressive police force.

There was a dull thud and cheering from the arena as a bell rang and the current match ended. Hiro didn't bother to listen to the announcer, instead watching as two waterbenders entered the ring and various workers placed buckets of water around the edges of the fighting area. The fights alternated in a consistent cycle of earth, water, and fire. Most of the airbenders in the city refused to fight due to their pacific nature, and there were so few that were actually willing to that airbending fights rarely occurred. Air was an element that Hiro was lacking in, even more perhaps than waterbending. By the old cycles, it should have been the second element that he mastered, but there were so few masters willing to teach for fear of capture that he relied on what he could discover on his own and the information that he was able to glean from the few scrolls he was able to pick up from time to time. Tadashi had helped him to design his own glider out of lightweight metal and strong fabric, and he had learned how to fly with it the previous summer when they had traveled out of the city to just outside Berklyoto for a family vacation. Needless to say, there had been a good deal of falling flat on the ground, and he hadn't even attempted to carry someone else on the glider with him.

Speaking of being knocked to the ground…

The waterbending match was beginning to wrap up, and Hiro knew that he was up next. His opponent would be on the other side of the arena, waiting to be let in from another entrance. Hiro moved down a step of stairs several feet behind the spectators to where he would be let into the ring after this match was over. Keeping up the nervous kid act, he shuffled his feet and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. The more the spectators thought his competitor was going to win, the higher cut he'd get of the money the showrunner made off of the bets made. It was going to be a good cut tonight, given the calibre of competitors at this particular arena and the large crowd. He was going to look like a fish out of water as soon as he entered the ring, and he was most certainly going to relish in every second of it.

There was an eruption of cheers from above, and Hiro knew that the match had concluded. He had reached the final staging area before benders entered the ring, and the door before him swung open and a battered waterbender nursing a smarting arm limped through, a patch of soothing water being held over one of his injuries. The loser, then. The attendant at the door glanced at Hiro, raised an eyebrow, then shook his head, waving the teenager inside.

He shuffled into the ring, looking up with wide eyes at the spectators above. There was a wave of laughter - there always was - as the crowd took notice of the fact that a five foot tall child had entered to compete. Hiro was used it. Hell, he wouldn't take any other fourteen year old seriously if they stepped into the ring.

"You're putting me against a child?"

Hiro's head turned from the crowd above to the opposite side of the ring, and he groaned as he saw his opponent. He was none other than the infamous Yama, the reigning firebending champion of this particular arena. The man was massive and stood at least a foot and a half above Hiro himself. Yama laughed heartily, and Hiro made wide eyes as he pretended to be intimidated by his opponent.

"You're allowing him to fight?" Yama called up to the showrunner above, who was standing at the edge of the arena.

She shrugged, gesturing with her tablet. "He pays, he fights."

Hiro watched as handfuls of money exchanged hands and was passed to the showrunner, no doubt in favor of Yama's victory. He was going to be rich after tonight.

Yama finally made eye contact with him, rolling back his shoulders. "Are you ready, kid?"

Hiro nodded feebly, weakly shifting into what could only loosely be defined as a fighting stance. "I'm ready."

The mountain of a man raised an eyebrow, waiting for the match to start. Hiro merely swallowed, trembling for effect.

As soon as the bell rang, Yama leaped into action with surprising agility for a man of his stature. Hiro ran sharply to the right, narrowly dodging a blast that nearly missed his head. He rolled, staying on the defensive as he leapt away from Yama's excessive attacks and skirted around the edges of the ring. The match would end when one of them was in position to deliver a final blow. Hiro was just narrowly avoiding the situation, instead running as the spectators above laughed. More money exchanged hands, and Hiro smirked.

A blast hit too hard to home, and Hiro was sent sprawling to the ground. He picked himself up gingerly, looking up as Yama sauntered forward, gloating and reveling in what he thought was his victory. Hiro merely smiled toothily, narrowing his eyes as he leapt back up, shrugging off his blue hoodie and throwing it to the side of the ring. He snapped into a bending stance, and watched Yama's expression immediately shift to one of confusion.

And then Hiro sprung.

Leaping into the air, he loosed a blast of flame from his right foot as it kicked toward his opponent. Following up with a two hand thrust, he landed agilely on the ground, watching in satisfaction as Yama stumbled back, obviously surprised. The move had been a bit show-offish, sure, but it was only a small part of what Hiro was able to do. Circling in an airbending style, he dodged a poorly aimed shot from Yama, weaving and retaliating with two precise shots of his own. One caught the edge of the man's tracksuit, and Yama was quick to discard the jacket much as Hiro had done with his.

Showing off a bit, Hiro skillfully bended a ring of fire in front of his face, grinning wildly. He thrust his palms outward, and a stream of flame lashed out towards his opponent. Yama grimaced and dodged, realizing that he had lost the upper hand in the match.

Not willing to let himself be beat by a kid that was half his size, the massive firebender sent a flurry of blasts from his palms that Hiro deflected with ease. Volleying back fireball after fireball, Hiro backed his opponent into the corner of the arena, eventually sending him diving to the ground to avoid a blast that would have struck him square in the middle.

Hiro stood over Yama, flame dagger at the ready. The match was won, and the crowd was shocked into near silence. However, Yama wasn't done, and with a snarl he threw his palms up and let loose a jet of flame at his younger opponent.

Hiro hadn't been expecting it, and he reacted instinctively, sending out a blast of wind as he circled away from the blast. The flames dissapated, but Yama was staring up at him with a shocked expression on his face.

It quickly morphed to anger however, as Yama growled out, "Avatar", picking himself up from the ground as Hiro stumbled back. "You little cheat."

It was at that moment that Hiro made the executive decision to run.

He sprinted out of the door he had entered the ring through, grabbing his hoodie from the edge of the ring on the way and flying up the stairs with a little aid from his rough airbending. Blasting through the straggling back members of the crowd, he shrugged his hoodie back on and flew back to the entrance to the arena, taking the stairs that led back up to surface level three or four at a time. He knew that Yama and any of his thugs for hire wouldn't be far behind, and he had to get out of there before they were able to get ahold of him. Avatar or not, he was going to have a difficult time fending off benders of all different types at once.

He heard footsteps behind him, thundering up the rough stairs. Turning a sharp corner and skidding in his sneakers, Hiro blasted out through the surface entrance of the arena, quickly scanning the alleyway in front of him and trying to decide where to go. Making a snap judgement, he turned and sprinted to the right.

Just as he was entering the side alley, however, water flew out and the ground froze beneath him. Hiro was sent skidding and sliding across the newly formed ice. He slammed into a brick wall, and hurried to pick himself up from the ground and wincing with pain.

He didn't get the chance to run again as strong arms slammed and held him against the wall. Two of what he presumed were Yama's personal thugs had caught up to him. Hiro recognized one as the earthbender who had won the match that he had watched, and he assumed that the other was the waterbender who had frozen the ground beneath him.

Yama himself approached, cracking his knuckles threateningly. "I don't like getting beat," he began as Hiro struggled futilely against the men holding him in place, the hood of his jacket bunched up behind his neck. "I especially don't like getting beat by cheating kids."

Hiro swallowed, thinking it was wiser not to respond.

Yama continued. "I saw your little trick back there, Avatar. Thought you could cheat and use multiple elements in a match and still get your money?"

Stuttering, Hiro spit out a rough, "No - no, I didn't… didn't mean to…" as he feebly pushed against the men restraining him.

Yama chuckled, keeping his eyes locked with the younger boy's. "You didn't mean to cheat and humiliate me in front of an entire crowd? I'm not going to buy it." He turned to his two men, nodding and turning back to the arena. "You know what to do."

With that he left, and Hiro was alone with the waterbender and earthbender, hopelessly pinned to the wall. They let him down with a shove, and backed into bending stances in front of him. He readied two fire daggers, shooting the flames out of his hands. "Come on, guys, you wouldn't hurt a kid…"

* * *

Tadashi Hamada was speeding through the streets of San Fransokyo.

Again.

Apparently, Hiro had just as much success keeping himself out of pro-bending matches as a moth did keeping itself away from a flame.

Tadashi bit his lip irritatedly as he turned through the alleyways, trying to find his way through the back streets of the financial district to where Hiro's tracker was leading him to. He had started to plant trackers on his younger brother about two months ago after Hiro had come home singed and three hours later than he should have after avoiding the police for half of the night. Sure, there was a decent chance that the trackers would get shorted out by errant blasts of water or flame, and of course the occasional chance that Hiro would find one himself and remove it, but it gave Tadashi some peace of mind when his brother decided to sneak out to go compete.

Plus, it made it a hell of a lot easier to find the fourteen year old Avatar when he decided to risk his neck on nights like tonight.

Tadashi knew he was close, and hung a right as he snuck a glance at the display screen of his phone. Suddenly, he heard a commotion and nearly groaned as he heard Hiro's telltale cocky but somewhat nervous voice from around the corner. "Come on, guys, you wouldn't hurt a kid…"

Tadashi turned the corner of the back alleyway just in time to see two men shifting into fighting stances at his younger brother, backing him into a brick wall. He skidded down the alleyway, grinding to a halt a foot in front of Hiro who had two fire daggers ready in defense. "Get on!" He called out as he quickly froze the ground beneath the two thugs, watching as even the waterbender fell to the ground.

As soon as Hiro's arms were secure around him, he revved the engine, sending them speeding down the alley and past the front for the bending arena. "You're the best!" Hiro crowed into Tadashi's ear, clinging onto his middle as they hung a sharp left turn.

"Are you hurt?" Tadashi yelled, not turning back as he focused on the pavement ahead.

"No!"

"Any burns!"

"I'm fine, Tadashi!"

"Then what were you thinking, knucklehead?" Tadashi snapped, turning back briefly to slap his brother as he chastised him.

"Come on, Tadashi, you know how much fun it is!" Hiro called back, leaning back slightly. "You just get to bend the entire time - don't tell me you wouldn't love that."

"Yeah," the older brother replied as he was forced to double back upon reaching a dead end. "But it's so illegal! Come on, Hiro, what would you do if you got caught?"

"Uh, I wouldn't get caught," Hiro answered, obviously cocky. "That's kind of the point."

"Hiro -" Tadashi was cut off as he realized that they had doubled back in the direction of the arena and that the pro-bending junkies were still after them. The largest, a man that Tadashi knew as Yama because of his fame in the underground bending leagues, was waiting with a snarl on his face and flame daggers in his hands.

"Hold on!" Tadashi yelled, veering to the right of the alley and aiming for a ramp that had been made out of planks. The moped took off into the air, and Tadashi's stomach fell as he realized that despite the daring move, they weren't going to clear Yama's reach. However, Hiro loosened his arms from Tadashi's middle just in time and bended up a large current of air, giving the brothers just enough altitude to clear Yama.

"Cheating Avatar!" The mountain of a man snarled from behind them, but the Hamadas were already far past him. Tadashi hung a left, trying to retrace the way that he had come. They should be alright as long as the police didn't show -

The sound of sirens echoed near them and Tadashi swore under his breath as he saw the telltale flashing of red and blue light several alleys over. Without thinking, he veered in the opposite direction, taking off down a different alleyway than he had originally planned. It was only going to have been a matter of time until the police started getting smarter and learned where all of the biggest pro-bending matches were. And of course, Hiro had started to show up at all of them, playing as a different type of bender each time. As long as the police still thought he was a regular bender, though...

"Tadashi!" Hiro yelled, his voice finally panicked. "They know I'm the Avatar!"

"Hiro!" Tadashi snarled exasperatedly, making a random turn and hoping that it was for the best. "You have to be more careful! If they're caught, or if we're caught…"

"It was an accident! I just reacted, and then I was airbending, and-"

The sound of other bikes in the vicinity caught Tadashi's attention, and the pit of his stomach dropped as he realized that the police hadn't only set up a blockade, but they were actively pursuing the benders as they fled from the arena. The city's policy had grown more stringent in the past several years, and they had become more aggressive in trying to catch benders all around the city.

And of course, Tadashi was lucky enough to have the moon blessed Avatar as his brother.

He swore under his breath, feeling Hiro cling to his back even tighter than before. He had taken a right when he should have gone left, inadvertently circling them back and in the wrong direction and effectively trapping them. On both sides, he could see the flashing lights and hear the loud engines of police special issued motorcycles. He scanned the alley that he was trapped in, and realized that there was no way that they would be able to drive out. They were trapped, and they were going to get Hiro, and _oh Tui_ -

Wait.

Tadashi threw off his helmet, hopping off of his moped frantically. "Get off," he said to Hiro, frantically unstrapping something from the side of the bike.

In his hand was a metal rod, and as he hit a hidden cache, it expanded and unfolded into a glider. He thrust it into Hiro's hands, watching as confusion spread across his younger brother's face. "I modified it earlier for easier transport. I figured it'd make it easier to have it on you, and I brought it with me on a hunch."

Hiro's eyebrows contracted in disbelief. "Tadashi, I can't leave you here! Look, we both can -" He was was cut off as they heard the police cycles just one alley over, searching for stragglers from the match.

Tadashi grabbed his younger brother's shoulders. "Hiro, you need to go now. I'll be fine, but you are the Avatar, and the world needs you. I'll be okay, I promise."

"Tadashi-"

"Go!" Tadashi yelled as the police lights finally made it into their alley. Hiro pushed back, briefly releasing a blast of flame from each hand in frustration before leaping off of the ground with a blast of air and taking off into the night sky. Not wasting time, he bended up a water whip from a puddle on the ground, ready to hold the police off of Hiro for as long as he could. He knew that it wouldn't be for long, however. He was greatly outnumbered. Someone must have spilled that the Avatar had come this way, and the police had sent the brunt of their forces to attempt a capture. At the very least, Tadashi thought, they wouldn't have Hiro. Not tonight.

"Halt! You are hereby placed under arrest by the Police Department of San Fransokyo for illegal practices. Raise your hands and keep them still."

_Tui and La, have mercy_, Tadashi thought as he shifted into bending stance, lashing the whip out defensively and preemptively. Officers approached him from both sides, and he found himself backed into a wall with nowhere to turn. He was cornered, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before they went in for the capture.

"Force will be used if you do not stand down!"

Tadashi swallowed, preparing for the inevitable. The officers advanced on both sides, and even though he saw them raise stun guns he was only able to deflect three with his whip. One officer found his mark, and the waterbender groaned as enough electricity to stun a firebender coursed through his body.

He fell to the ground, and felt himself being hefted up by police arms as everything faded to black.

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading this first chapter of **_**Malleable**_**. The title is up for debate, but we'll see how that changes in the time ahead. I've been sitting on this chapter since like November trying to write ahead, so I hope to be able to put out regular updates. I plan to update every Friday, and I'll try to notify you if I won't be able to update. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line.**

**-emrys-ite**


	2. Chapter 2

Tadashi decided that he disliked handcuffs the moment that he woke up.

He was in the back of a police armored car, the chain of the cuffs hooked to the metal wall behind him. Platinum, he suspected. To be completely honest, he wouldn't have expected to be in something this secure. Last he checked, the police were perfectly content to cart off benders in regular police cars - he had seen it happen on campus. It had been a shame too. The girl had just been trying to put out a fire, and accidentally exposed her bending. They had arrested her even though she had stopped the fire from spreading to other labs and probably saved several lives.

Shaking his head, Tadashi tried to focus on the situation at hand. Obviously he had been knocked out. However, he realized with a sigh of relief, Hiro seemed to have escaped. Flicking his eyes upward, he noticed two policemen - anti-bending force members, specifically - sitting on the benches at the front of the space. Both of them had their eyes trained on him intently, obviously having realized that he had woken up and could potentially try to escape.

Tadashi hung his head, noticing that they both were equipped with the tasers that had gotten him in the first place. He was going to kill Hiro when he got out of this, and then he was going to hunt down his brother's reincarnation and shake him into the next element in the cycle. At the very least, Hiro was okay. That was what he had to remind himself of. Tadashi was just a regular waterbender. He wasn't nearly as important in the grand scheme of the world as Hiro was.

The car stopped, and Tadashi felt inertia force his wrists to push against the cuffs, their sharp edges cutting into his skin. He winced briefly, noticing that his shoulders and back were already sore from being held in their drawn back position. That was standard, at the very least. But the armored car, the attentive guards, the platinum - none of that was typical fare for your average captured bender.

_Oh Tui_, Tadashi thought, realization suddenly striking him. _They think I'm the Avatar._

It all made sense. The police guards had seen them in the dark of the back alleyway just before Hiro had flown away on his glider. And before that… Hiro had loosed a burst of fire in frustration. In the dark it easily could have been mistaken for something that Tadashi had done. And of course, Tadashi had defended himself with waterbending directly before he had been knocked out. They had seen the two, and with Tadashi being older and therefore more likely to have been the one that had been fighting, they had assumed that he was the Avatar and not Hiro.

_Better you than Hiro. Better you thank Hiro._

No one had known exactly when Avatar Kenuichio, the past Avatar, had passed away. There had been a time when the world hadn't needed the Avatar before the police began to become more and more aggressive under the government. Sometime during the transitional period, Avatar Kenuichio, an earthbender, had died secluded in the wilderness. Of course, the Hamadas were really the only people who knew that he had passed away on the 8th of September in the year 2000. The rest of the world only knew that sometime between 1992 and 2004 Kenuichio had died, leaving the age of the current avatar up for debate. Hiro and Tadashi were close enough together age-wise for either of them to be in the correct range.

Tadashi supposed that the situation was fortunate. If he was in custody, then Hiro wasn't. However, the Avatar would be the most closely guarded prisoner in all of San Fransokyo. If he died, the cycle would merely begin again along with the search for the Avatar, and the state would lose the most important capture they had ever made. That meant that as long as they believed that Tadashi was the Avatar, there would be a minimal chance of him ever escaping.

He may never see Hiro or Aunt Cass or any of his friends ever again.

Tadashi would have held his head in his hands if he had been able to. This was bad, really bad. Of course, the university would be notified. His lab would be appropriated, his projects thoroughly reviewed. At the very least, Baymax was in his side of he and Hiro's shared room at the café. With any luck, the robot wouldn't be taken or too thoroughly inspected. Maybe Hiro would continue to work on him and develop him more.

The car lurched into motion once again, and Tadashi winced as the cuffs dug sharply into his wrists once more. Knowing Hiro, he'd probably attempt to do something harebrained and try to rescue him. All Tadashi could hope for was that his younger brother would keep his head down and not be discovered when the police inevitably came knocking at the Lucky Cat Café. If Hiro could convince them that he wasn't a bender, he would be fine. Although it happened often, siblings weren't always both benders. Hiro and Tadashi weren't even originally the same variation of bender. Hiro had been born into the Avatar cycle as a firebender. Their mother had been a waterbender while their father had been a firebender, leading the two brothers to develop with different elemental styles. Although, Tadashi supposed that Hiro didn't really count since he technically was every type of bender.

Tui, the handcuffs really were uncomfortable. Tadashi shifted in his seat, twisting his wrists in the confines of the metal. Immediately, both of the officers' hands flew to their tasers, and Tadashi ceased his movement. They were obviously on edge, and he certainly wasn't hoping to get shocked and knocked out again. His body was already sore enough, and he had a the beginnings of a splitting headache building above his right eye that was probably due to the fact that several thousand volts of electricity had been coursing through his body recently. It certainly wasn't something that he hoped he would make a habit of anytime soon.

The car drove onto a new surface, forcing Tadashi to jostle slightly in the cuffs and wince. Their speed slowed, and eventually they ground to a halt. There was silence, and Tadashi swallowed gingerly and waited to be bustled out and into a new location. However, they merely continued to sit in silence, the officers glancing his way ever so often as their fingers twitched on their guns. They were obviously nervous about guarding the Avatar. Tadashi couldn't blame them - except for the fact that he was very much not the Avatar.

There were noises from outside of the car that were too muffled for Tadashi to distinguish. He kept his head down, making every effort not to shift too much and set off the officers. They remained stationary for about ten minutes in the vehicle, and Tadashi let his mind wander to Hiro. What was his brother doing right now? He should have made it back to the Lucky Cat Café by this point. It was protocol to trace down any family members who could possibly be benders as well, so they would inevitably come knocking at his brother's door. Hiro was smart enough to get past the police's first assessment. After that though, he would be monitored closely and would have to be much too careful. It'd be better for him to camp out with one of Tadashi's friends instead of risking capture.

There was a small thump from below Tadashi's feet, and he felt a mild jostling. Muffled shouts echoed from outside of the car, and he strained his ears to hear anything that would help him to work out what was going on. Suddenly, he began to piece things together. They didn't keep the benders on the mainland, Tadashi had known that. They had driven the car onto a boat, one of the many that crossed the harbor of San Fransokyo each day, and had left for transport to…

The doors flew open, and Tadashi's head whipped to look outside at the night sky and the bright skyline of San Fransokyo. He knew where he was.

They were on Akuma Island.

* * *

Hiro landed lightly on the terrace of the Lucky Cat Café, quickly folding his glider up like Tadashi had modified it to. He could have sworn that he had flown over half of San Fransokyo making sure that he lost the police. Some of them had tried to trail him for a while, but he was sure that he had lost them after a while and that they hadn't seen his face. At the very least, he'd be able to avoid them for a while. Scanning to make sure no one had seen him land, he threw open the door leading in from the garden. They kept it unlocked most of the time for nights like this, and Hiro was grateful for the fact. He jumped down the flight of stairs, calling the air to catch him at the bottom. As he shoved open the door at the bottom, he dashed into the apartment and around the corner.

"Aunt Cass!" He called out, already thundering down to the kitchen. His aunt wasn't there, and he was suddenly realized that the café was still open. Of course, it was Tuesday - beat poetry night. He skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs that led down into the café, and heard the sounds of lilting speech and soft drums. Throwing a hand onto his face and dragging it down, Hiro lamented the fact that tonight would be the busiest one that the café had every month.

Steeling himself for the crowd below, Hiro crept down the stairs, gingerly placing each step. He didn't want to be involved in a conversation with one of the regulars. They tended to ask questions about where he was going to school, how he was feeling, if he was in a relationship, if Tadashi was in a relationship… A pang of guilt spread through Hiro's chest at the thought of Tadashi. It was all his fault, and now he had to fix it.

But first, he had to tell Aunt Cass.

Creeping along the back edge of the cafe and avoiding the makeshift stage on the left side, he snuck back to the register where his Aunt was watching the current poet speak with a fond expression as she absentmindedly munched on one of her signature donuts. There was a flurry of snapping from the café as the poet said something presumably profound - Hiro wasn't listening - and he took the opportunity to rush up to his Aunt, tap her on the shoulder, and frantically motion for her to join him in the café's kitchen that was adjacent to the register. She gave him an exasperated look until she noticed that his normally relaxed face was tight, with drawn eyebrows and wide eyes.

Pulling her into the kitchen, Hiro slid the door shut as quickly as possible. Cass swallowed her last bite of donut. "What's wrong, what happened?"

Hiro cut to the chase. "Tadashi's been captured."

Cass's hand tightly gripped the edge of the counter. "What?"

Hiro swallowed, feeling the guilt hit him again. "Tadashi, he- he let himself be captured by the police. For waterbending."

"Why was he waterbending in front of the police?" Cass's knuckles were white, her face unusually tense. "He knows better than that, why would he ever-"

"Aunt Cass," Hiro cut her off, clenching his fists. "He- He was saving me." His Aunt's eyes widened. "I was pro-bending, and some of the guys there accidentally found out that I was the Avatar, and they were gonna hurt me… Tadashi found me just in time. But then the police were there, and…" Hiro ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. "He had my glider. And he told me to go." Tears began to prick at the edges of his eyes for the first time that night. "And- And I did."

Hiro gazed down, fighting the urge to break down. Tadashi was captured, Tadashi wasn't here, and it was all his fault-

Suddenly, Hiro was wrapped in a warm embrace and he instinctively tensed up. He realized that Aunt Cass was hugging him, and that she was crying too, and then everything just built up and he wrapped his arms around her and held on like he would never let go. She pulled him closer and he let himself cry into the fabric of her shirt, finally letting all that had happened sink in.

After several long moments, she pulled him away, holding his shoulders at arms length. "Tadashi's not gone," she said, her voice with barely a hint of a quaver. "He's not gone," she repeated, just as much for herself as for Hiro. "And we will get him back."

Hiro nodded solemnly, wiping away several tears from his eyes. "Yeah, I know, it's just… it's my fault."

Aunt Cass looked him dead in the eye. "Hiro, you can't place the blame on yourself. Tadashi knew what he was doing when he told you to run, and he wouldn't have made you go if he wasn't sure of the consequences."

Hiro clenched his fingers around the corner of his hoodie. "If I hadn't gone pro-bending -"

"Hiro," Aunt Cass cut him off. "Blaming yourself won't get you anywhere. You couldn't have known."

"I should have known -"

"Yes," Aunt Cass cut him off sharply. "But reflecting on that will not change anything. Tadashi made his choice. Tadashi is not dead," she spoke firmly, almost as much for herself as for Hiro.

The comment stung, but Hiro took the sentiment to heart. Tadashi wasn't dead. That in itself was a comfort. While the government and the police force were becoming more and more aggressive in their anti-bending stance, they still hadn't acquired the right to outright kill benders without evidence that they had done harm to others. Tadashi had resisted his arrest, but that wasn't nearly enough for a death sentence. He could still be rescued. Of course, he would be detained, and put in prison with all of the other benders in an isolated environment. Which meant that he was on…

Akuma Island.

Hiro stiffened. He had heard the name in some of the underground bending circles. Few had ever escaped the facility, isolated as it was from mainland San Fransokyo. The area was technically quarantined, but in reality it was where all of the captured benders from the San Fransokyo area were held. It was where Tadashi likely was right now. He turned his eyes up to meet Aunt Cass's. "I know where he is."

Hiro felt her hands grip his shoulders tighter. "You do?"

He nodded. "I heard about it in, well…" He swallowed again. "In the pro-bending underground." He watched as her eyes widened, but she allowed him to continue. "Some of the benders have escaped, but only a handful at best. They take them to Akuma Island, one of the small islands off of the mainland city."

"That's where they would take Tadashi?" Cass questioned. "Are you sure?"

Hiro nodded once again in affirmation. "It's their most secure facility. Probably the only one in the area. The government has it set up as a quarantine area so no civilians stumble on it. Not that it'd be all that easy to stumble onto, it's on one of the islands."

"It's not as if we could just barge in there, though." Cass took her hands off of his shoulders, rubbing one down her face. "What are we going to do, Hiro?"

Hiro's mind was blank. "I-" he began, trying to spit out some sort of plan. "I don't know."

From outside in the café came the soft sound of a flurry of snaps and soft drum hits. Cass pursed her lips. "I don't know if you can stay here. I'm assuming that they're going to identify Tadashi, and come investigate us here."

"They saw me fly away," Hiro murmured, fingers worrying the edge of his hoodie. "If any one of them got a good look at me and can identify me-"

Once again, his Aunt took his shoulders. "I'm not going to let that happen, okay?" She stared him down. "You are so important, and not just because you are the Avatar. I mean it," she added on after seeing the look on his face. "Hiro, you are important to me. You are important to Tadashi." Hiro gripped the zipper of his jacket. "Hell, even Mochi is warming up to you, and I am not going to let anything else happen to you, alright?"

Hiro nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Cass gave him a small nod back in agreement before standing up to her full height and removing her warm hands. "I'm going to have to go back in there and close up early. We've got some things to sort out."

With that, she entered back into the café, jovially clapping her hands together and speaking to the customers. As they exited with ambient chatter and cheerful goodbyes, Hiro leaned up against the counter near the stove, gripping the edge until his knuckles turned white. They had been fine for eleven years. Why was this happening now?

* * *

Tadashi decided that he disliked being manhandled almost as much as he disliked handcuffs.

Which he was still sporting, by the way.

They had thrust him out of the armored car and onto solid ground, where he had almost immediately been seized by several pairs or secure hands and frogmarched into the closest of the buildings of the Akuma Island facility. There had been little chance for even the smallest struggles, but still some part of him felt as if he should be resisting more than he was at the moment. So he dragged his feet, not making it easy for them to push him forward. Was it petulant? Yes. Was it also satisfying? Very much so.

Cold air rushed over him as they entered the facility, and Tadashi realized that he was entering what was likely one of the most secure prisons in the world. The officers pushed him over slick linoleum, and every few meters he ended up tripping over his own feet. There were few sources of water anywhere in sight, but that wasn't much of a surprise to Tadashi. Water would have to be scarce in the facility, especially given the nature that it was on an island and surrounded by very bendable liquid. He wouldn't be seeing the light of day anytime soon, then.

They turned several corners, keeping up at the same quick pace. After several minutes of winding through identical corridors, Tadashi realized that they were deliberately making the route as confusing as possible. Maybe Hiro could have remembered the series of twists and turns, but Tadashi lost track after about twelve changes of direction. He considered attempting to make some small talk (because really, what did he have to lose), but couldn't get past the lump in his throat. The officers were still one edge, and the ones who weren't forcefully holding his shoulders had their fingers twitching on their stun guns. He wished that he could stretch his arms. His fingers were starting to tingle, and his wrists were sore.

After descending two flights of stairs and what felt like an eternity, Tadashi was led to a thick, metal door. There was a senior ranking officer or government official (Tadashi couldn't tell) waiting for them, and Tadashi felt the man's eyes rake over him. For his part, Tadashi stood up a bit straighter, schooling his face and attempting to appear dispassionate despite the cramping of his muscles and the tight grip of the hands on his shoulders. One of the officers that had walked with them throughout the building approached the senior man.

"You think he's the Avatar?" The senior officer spoke quietly to the escort, as if Tadashi wouldn't hear them.

The escort nodded curtly, nervously glancing in Tadashi's direction. Tadashi clenched his fists in the cuffs behind his back, his fingernails digging into the skin of his palm.

"We'll confirm later on," The senior officer stated, his tone clipped. He gestured to the door with a sharp jerk of his head, and then Tadashi was being shoved towards the door, which the first escort was opening. Thankfully, the lights were on inside, but nearly every surface was metal. Right, platinum. As far as Tadashi knew, it was one of the only metals that Earthbenders couldn't bend. He was shoved into the cell, and as he stumbled, the senior officer trailed in after him.

"You are being held for crimes against the state," The man rattled off, speech obviously practiced. "Any attempt to escape will be treated with the utmost severity. Any use of bending is severely punishable. You will be given water at preset times throughout the day. You will not be allowed contact outside of the facility."

Something sharp went through Tadashi's chest. He wouldn't see Hiro, or Aunt Cass, or any of his friends ever again unless he miraculously escaped.

_Better you than Hiro. Better you than Hiro._

The officer was still staring him down. "Is this clear?"

Tadashi's face tightened, and he spoke for the first time since his capture. "Like water under a full moon."

The officer's eyes narrowed at the quip, but he turned heel and left the cell. Several of the lower officers that had escorted Tadashi along the way entered the room, and two of them held him as another unlocked his cuffs. Tadashi didn't resist, even as a heavy metal shackle was clamped around his right ankle. It would only end with a stun gun to his side, and nothing would come out of it in any case. Within moments, his wrists were free of the pinching handcuffs and the officers were hurriedly moving away from him and out the door.

Tadashi stood where he was as the door slammed shut, heavy locks and tumblers falling into place with the resounding thunk of metal on metal. Rubbing his sore, raw wrists, he surveyed the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were a smooth grey platinum, obviously designed to keep metalbenders - or Avatars - contained. There was no toilet, only one cot in the corner of the room next to the anchor for the chain attached to his leg. There was one air vent high in the corner of the room farthest away from the door. Other than that, the cell was small and excessively spare.

Collapsing on the cot, Tadashi ran his fingers through his hair exhaling raggedly. He was much more than up the creek with no paddle.

He was stranded in the ocean, surrounded by sharks.

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading chapter two of **_**Malleable**_**! I'm sorry that it's up late in the day, had to do some revisions and had a busy afternoon. Please feel free to leave any comments, criticisms, or thoughts! See you next Friday.**

**\- emrys-ite**


	3. Chapter 3

It was at approximately 8:00 the next morning when the police came knocking at the Lucky Cat Café.

Hiro had been up in his room, tinkering with some of Tadashi's things. His brother had left his university project back in their shared room - it was some kind of robot or something, but Hiro had never seen it, only read through some of Tadashi's designs and code. Now, he wished that he had gone back with Tadashi to the lab the thousands of times that his brother had offered. Hiro had refused despite his brother's insistence that Hiro needed a cover from the police so they wouldn't start to get suspicious. At the moment, the young Avatar was trying to jam a thin wedge into the opening, trying to figure out how to activate it. He had clambered on top of the shiny red box, leaning over it precariously when he heard his Aunt softly call, "Hiro? There's someone here to see you."

Her voice was tense, and Hiro immediately noticed. Scrambling off of the case, he pulled down his hoodie and scanned the room to make sure that nothing was sitting out that would immediately give him away. The night previous, he had made sure that all of his scrolls, glider, and other materials were locked in a safe that he then buried seven feet below the ground in the small yard area behind the café. It was hopefully deep enough that the police wouldn't even try to dig it up, at least not at this first visit.

After ensuring that everything was in place, Hiro calmly walked down the stairs, schooling his face. There were two officers in the kitchen, and one of them was quite obviously high ranking. Hiro's guilt and fear settled to the pit of his stomach, but he walked to the table where the higher ranking officer was sitting. Aunt Cass was in the corner, biting her lip like she always did when she was nervous. Offering a small, polite smile, Hiro took the seat opposite the officer and evenly spoke, "How can I help you?"

The officer pursed his lips as his cohort stood stiffly. "Hiro, isn't it?" Hiro nodded, keeping his expression neutral. "I am assuming that you are aware of the fact that your brother was arrested the night previous?"

Hiro nodded, his face taught. The officer continued. "Are you aware of the reason for which he was arrested?"

Hiro shook his head.

"Hiro," the man spoke as he leaned in closer. "Your brother is a bender."

Hiro had practiced this, if only briefly. He allowed his eyebrows to draw together; his bottom lip to drop slightly in disbelief. "What?"

The officer drew his hands together in the center of the table, clasping them together. "He resisted arrest following a raid of an organized bending match in the financial district. An accomplice of his, an airbender, escaped." The man tightened his face as Hiro fought to keep still. "Were you aware of any irregular habits your brother may have had?"

Hiro knew that he had to choose his words carefully. "Sometimes…" he began, twiddling his fingers in what he knew was a display of anxiousness. "Sometimes, Tadashi would say that he was going to the lab to work on his project for school. He would stay out late some nights. It wasn't very often, but…" he trailed off, biting his lip. "Maybe he was going out."

Brow crinkling, the officer wrote something down on the notepad in front of him. "Were you aware that your brother was a bender?"

Hiro swallowed, shaking his head in what he hoped was a convincing manner.

The officer raised an eyebrow, continuing to write on his notepad. Eventually, he set his pen down and met Hiro's eyes. Aunt Cass was worrying the edge of her shirt nervously eyes flicking between the pair at the table and the floor of the kitchen. The officer cleared his throat and leaned in slightly, adjusting his position on the chair. "Hiro, do you possess any bending abilities?"

_This was it, _Hiro thought as he swallowed nervously. "I mean," he cleared his throat slightly. "I feel like I would have found out by now."

The officer held eye contact. "I want you to realize that having a sibling who is a proven bending greatly increases your chances of having inherited the ability as well."

Fighting to keep his gaze steady, Hiro evenly replied, "Yes, I'm aware."

Raising an eyebrow, the man continued. "Then you understand that in light of recent events, you will be monitored on occasion by city police."

Well, Hiro hadn't expected him to be so blunt about it. However, he didn't let it throw him off guard. Narrowing his eyes, he responded. "That seems reasonable, officer. When will I be allowed to see my brother?"

The second officer who hadn't yet spoken shifted against his position leaning against the kitchen counter. "Kid, no one is allowed to see benders once they've been arrested."

Hiro gripped the edge of the wooden table. "Why not?"

"The security threat is too high," the officer at the table replied, shuffling his papers. "We can't risk an escape."

Hiro allowed himself to become incredulous, something that wasn't all that difficult given the situation. "So I'm never going to be allowed to see my brother again?" He stood up, pushing his chair out behind him. "He's one of the few family members that I have left!"

Aunt Cass flinched, but the officer calmly stood up, documents steadily held in his right hand. His gaze pierced straight through Hiro and a shiver ran down the Avatar's spine. "You won't see him unless you join him."

* * *

Robert Callaghan exited the Lucky Cat Café, shuffling his papers and documents back into the manila folder that he was clutching in his right hand. His partner for the day, a previous student of his from the academy, quickly followed him, matching his pace to Callaghan's.

"The kid's lying, right?" His partner Joshua, a young man in his early thirties, spoke as he stepped in line with his superior officer.

"Of course," Callaghan responded brusquely, quickening his pace. "He was obviously in on the entire situation. Hell, he was probably the airbender that escaped. He matched the rough description just enough. But we can't arrest without probable evidence."

Joshua's eyebrows knit together. "Didn't we already check the family genealogy? Their mother was a waterbender and their father was a firebender."

"We'll have to check again," Callaghan spoke as they reached the car. "Stranger things have happened, in any case. It's not like old times. There aren't any nations anymore."

As they stepped into the vehicle, Joshua turned his head to Callaghan. "What about the brother, Tadashi?"

Callaghan started the car, gripping the steering wheel. "We'd better make sure that he's the Avatar."

* * *

Tadashi had been ready to lose his mind after about an hour, and it had been by his estimate about eight since he had arrived on Akuma Island.

The chain attached to his ankle was about four feet long, and allowed him to walk in a small radius away from the bed, which was bolted solidly to the ground. To be quite honest, it felt more cliché than anything he had experienced. He had expected the solitude, but not to be chained like an animal. Of course, it wasn't any more comfortable than the handcuffs had been. He kept trying to pace around, nearly tripping as he forgot that it was even on his leg.

The multiple cameras hadn't escaped him either. The petulant part of his mind had considered sending rude gestures through the video feed, but his strategy still remained trying not to actively anger the people who now controlled his existence. He had slept fitfully for a while, realizing almost immediately that the bed they had provided him with was nothing like his own at home and was thin with a minimal amount of padding. He hadn't had any interaction thus far with any of the guards, although he was sure that there was a pair outside of the door. He had already exhausted the possibility of tugging off the uncomfortable chain, which was resolutely locked around his ankle and secured into the wall.

As of the moment, he was sitting on the cot, trying to meditate like his mother had taught him back when she was his water bending master. In through the nose, and out through the mouth, spine straight, and head clear of thoughts. That was what Tadashi had always gotten hung up on. It was too difficult for him to clear his mind when there were thousands of thoughts racing around in it at any given time.

By now, the police had probably already visited the Lucky Cat Café, and Tadashi prayed that Hiro would be able to use the same silver tongue that allowed him to expertly con pro-benders to get the police off of his back for the time being. The brothers hadn't ever extensively explored the possibility of either of them being captured by the police simply because it was unthinkable. However, Tadashi had given Hiro Fred's address, and he hoped that his brother would be smart enough to use it.

Aunt Cass would be worried out of her mind. Tadashi could see her worrying the ends of her hair as Hiro was informally interrogated, could see her biting her lip as she let the police officers into the café, could see her slamming the door shut as soon as they exited. She wasn't a bender herself, but her sister and adopted children were and that had caused her infinite stress. He wished that he would have discussed this case with her, but knew that she had a stronger will than anyone else he knew and would be able to get herself and Hiro through the situation.

Tadashi wished that he would have been able to warn his friends as well. They would be placed under scrutiny as well, though not as heavily as Hiro. Gogo would be steadfast in her resistance, answering bluntly to any and all police questions. Honey Lemon would probably just keep talking until the police tired of her chatter. Wasabi would have difficulty with lying to the officers, but he had done it plenty of times before and would be able to again. Fred would be able to play the part perfectly, his investment in the fictional world allowing him to perfectly craft a character that would lead the police away from any suspicion that would be placed on any of them. As the only non-bender in their group, he would still go to any length to ensure his friends' safety.

The sound of thick locks and tumblers falling out of place pulled Tadashi out of his thoughts, causing his eyes to snap open at the sound. Instinctively he tensed, pulling his arms closer into his body while his feet curled in in their crossed position. Eventually, the heavy door swung open. Tadashi hoped that they were bringing him water. He knew that he'd be pinned on the ground before he'd even be able to bend it, but even outside of his existence as a waterbender he was thoroughly parched.

No such luck. The guards that entered were armed heavily with stun guns, and immediately four of them moved in. Not eager to be tased early in the morning (at least, he thought it was morning), Tadashi slowly stood at the cue of one of the officer's gestures for him to rise. He preemptively and carefully moved his hands away from his body, holding them up on the sides of his head. Even though it was obvious that he wouldn't resist, the officers moved cautiously, one officer grabbing each of his hands and sharply pulling them behind his back. The cuffs that they put on him were more extensive than the simple ones he had been in yesterday. They were designed as wrist braces, and forced his wrists straight with little range of movement. One of the guards hooked a chain between the two braces, and as Tadashi attempted to flex his wrists he realized the astuteness of the restraints. No one, save perhaps an earthbender, would be able to properly bend in them.

With his arms secured, one of the officers unlocked the chain around his ankle, which Tadashi eagerly flexed. None of the officers had yet spoken, something that struck Tadashi as odd. He had assumed that there were supposed to be standoffs, pointed glares, and more bravado. At the moment, it seemed like they were just trying to be as stoic as possible. Holding on to his shoulders, the guards pushed him forward and out the door towards an elevator that Tadashi hadn't seen the night previous. He craned his neck around, trying to observe his surroundings in the thin corridor where his cell was located.

Dull points prodded into the space between his ribs, and Tadashi immediately stiffened. "Head forward", the officer on his left spoke. "Walk straight."

Tadashi swallowed, rigidly turning his focus forward towards the elevator. What he had assumed was a stun gun was still pushed into the fabric of his shirt and into his ribcage, rubbing against his skin and setting him on edge. He resisted the urge to roll his shoulders in order to try and relieve some of the tension that was already building up from the restraints on his wrists. They reached the elevator, and as one of the auxiliary officers punched in the code, Tadashi felt the points of the stun gun grind further into his side and he grimaced, attempting to school his expression. He decided to push the boundaries as they stepped into the elevator together. "Where are you taking me?"

The points twisted, and Tadashi hissed under his breath. "All you need to know is that if you do not comply with regulation," the officer holding the weapon began, "We will not hesitate to use necessary force."

Tadashi swallowed, doing his best not to shy away from the officer. He nodded slightly, glancing at the man out of his periphery. If there was any semblance of civil rights in the United Prefectures, they certainly didn't apply to benders. It was an arrest first, ask questions later type of system, and there was little regulation outside the police force and the law of San Fransokyo. Tadashi wouldn't even be tried. They had seen him waterbending; there wasn't any need for further evidence past that.

The elevator heavily came to a stop, and another one of the other officers punched in a nine-digit number on a keypad that Tadashi hadn't previously noticed in the elevator. As the doors slid open, Tadashi was frogmarched down a hallway that was similar enough to the one he had just exited, and they all quickly turned into an open door leading into what Tadashi assumed was an interrogation room. He was shoved down forcefully into a chair once the chain connecting his wrists was unlocked and his wrists were locked into the chair's metal arms. His feet were locked into the metal of the chair as well. Tadashi suspected that since they were in a less secure location, the officers wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be able to escape. He just wished that they would give him some water.

The officer that had held the stun gun to his side laid his hand down heavily on the table in front of Tadashi. "Good luck, kid." He smiled grimly, and then exited the room as another entered.

The man that entered was at least fifty years old with graying hair, wearing a suit over a buttoned up shirt and a beige sweater vest. He carried a clipboard with a pen tucked behind his ear and an deliberately visible taser at his belt. He closed the door behind him, shuffling his papers and glancing at Tadashi as he sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the table. He looked harmless enough, but Tadashi could see a glint of steel in his eyes. He swallowed nervously, shifting his eyes anywhere in the room away from the man sitting across from him

The man cleared his throat. "Tadashi Hamada," he spoke, still looking down at his papers and organizing them.

Tadashi's focus snapped back across the table. "Yes," he attempted to speak clearly, his voice rough from hours of disuse.

The man finally met Tadashi's eyes. "My name is Robert Callaghan. We're going to have a talk."

His voice was gravelly and level, and Tadashi felt chills run down his spine, similar to the feeling he got whenever Hiro had thought it was funny to bend snow down his coat when they were children. His will hardened, he decided to venture into the conversation. "Is this the part where I get to be innocent until proven guilty?"

Callaghan chuckled, his eyes not moving up from his shuffling papers. "No. This is the part where we determine if you are as guilty as we think you are."

Tadashi swallowed, attempting to shift his wrists inside the cuffs. He was cornered, and so he kept silent.

The other man read off of one of his papers. "Tadashi Hamada, born July 25th, 1993 to Tomeo and Maemi Hamada. Maemi, mother, confirmed waterbender. Tomeo, father, confirmed firebender. One sibling, Hiro, born September 8th, 2000. Bending capacity unknown."

Tadashi visibly stiffened at the mention of Hiro, but did his best to school his expression and keep it neutral. Callaghan continued. "Subject is currently enrolled at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. Certified genius, currently pursuing a degree in Robotics." The man set down the file, looking at Tadashi directly. "Quite the impressive resumé."

Tadashi pursed his lips. "I try, sir."

"You know," Callaghan began, crossing his legs, "I had a daughter that attended SFIT several years back. It's an incredible university."

The small talk was making Tadashi uncomfortable given the situation, but he kept on with it. "I was thrilled to be admitted. The lab is everything I could have hoped for."

"Not much time to train then," Callaghan stated offhandedly, leaning back in his chair.

Immediately, Tadashi's mouth tightened. "I keep busy."

"You help in the café as well, correct?" Tadashi bit his tongue, but Callaghan continued. "With your brother and Aunt."

Curling his fingers inward, Tadashi managed a curt nod. "I do."

"Well, it seems that you're a man of many talents," the other man stated with a slight nod of his head. "One of which is reportedly being master of all the elements."

Tadashi pursed his lips, trying to decide how to play the situation. At this point, it would probably be best to remain silent.

"You were captured the night previous at 12:37 p.m. in the financial district of San Fransokyo," Callaghan continued, skipping over Tadashi's silence. "Reportedly, there was an accomplice with you leading up to your capture. An airbender, likely several years younger than you. Who were they?"

"Another bender," Tadashi spoke, letting the lie spill out of his mouth. "From the matches. We just started running, I didn't know him."

The officer raised an eyebrow. "You seemed to be awfully familiar with him if you allowed him onto your bike."

Tadashi narrowed his gaze. "That's just what we do. When you're trying to get away, it doesn't really matter who comes with you."

"So you did try to escape from the police."

Tadashi replied quickly, drawing his eyebrows. "Obviously."

Callaghan locked his fingers together, setting his hands down on the table. "So you admit to charges of resisting arrest and illegal conduct."

Tadashi pursed his lips. "The police saw me waterbend at them. I'm sure that's admission enough."

Callaghan smiled grimly. "Then we can get to the real concerns here, Mr. Hamada. Are you truly the Avatar?"

"It's what I've been arrested for, isn't it?" Tadashi replied, curling his fingers.

The other man leaned forward in his seat. "You're evading the question. The police treated you as such because it had been reported that the Avatar had been spotted at the arena by another captured bender and upon catching up to you and your accomplice, officers reported seeing you briefly firebend before defending yourself by waterbending. Is this true?"

Drawing in a breath through his nose, Tadashi nodded. "Yes."

"This is what's peculiar, Mr. Hamada," Callaghan responded, shifting his weight. "Why would you defend yourself with the limited amount of water present rather than with other styles of bending more suited to the situation? It would have been easy enough to knock out the officers' weapons with airbending."

Tadashi felt his heart beating in his chest. "I - I'm more comfortable with waterbending than with other elements."

Callaghan raised an eyebrow. "Even though it is not your first element?"

Tadashi was puzzled, but then realized his mistake. _Fire is Hiro's first element. The current element in the cycle is fire._ "It was what I was first instructed in."

"By whom?"

"My mother," Tadashi spoke, telling the truth for once. "She taught me waterbending as a child."

"It must have been difficult for you," Callaghan stated plainly, tapping his foot.

"I - well," Tadashi began, fumbling for the answer. "I never knew, since it was the first element I learned." _And the only element that I've learned._

"The fact still remains that you likely could have escaped the limited police force that was available at the time." The other man was still staring Tadashi down. "So why didn't you?"

Tadashi's wrists tightened inside the cuffs. "I wasn't thinking."

Callaghan raised an eyebrow. "Unusual, for someone of your intellect."

"We all have our moments," Tadashi replied evenly.

"Let's return back to that accomplice, shall we?" Callaghan questioned, and Tadashi stiffened. "Tell me a bit about them."

"I already told you, I don't know them," Tadashi answered, clenching his jaw.

"See, I don't think that's true," the other man replied.

"What do you want to know?" Tadashi shot back testily, trying to not give anything away. "They were younger than me. They were at the pro-bending match. They were probably about five feet tall."

"And of course," Callaghan began, shifting forward in his seat, "They were an airbender. Now, what would an airbender be doing at a pro-bending match?"

Tadashi shrugged involuntarily, his wrists chafing against the cuffs. He tried to remember what little Hiro had told him about his pro-bending escapades. "They show up sometimes. Not all of them are peaceful."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Callaghan began, "But isn't it unusual for children to attend these matches in any case?"

The only knowledge Tadashi had of pro-bending matches was from that which he had obtained from Hiro. He'd have to elaborate a bit. "I suppose. But sometimes you get some crazy kids that were able to get training when they were young and want to try and make some money."

"Were there any other airbenders at this particular fight?" Callaghan questioned, leaning back in his chair.

"I-I'm not sure," Tadashi answered hesitantly. He was entering into dangerous territory and making things up about the match. "There weren't any airbending matches scheduled."

"Well, according to witness testimonies that we've collected," Callaghan began as he shuffled through his papers, "The only person that used airbending that night was the Avatar during a firebending match."

_Oh Tui,_ Tadashi thought as he attempted to shift in his restraints. "It was an accident."

"An accident that cost your apparent capture," The interrogator stated matter-of-factly, clasping his hands. "The facts still remain: why was there a young airbender at the pro-bending match, and more importantly, why did you sacrifice your freedom for him?"

Tadashi's face tightened. "Someone had to help."

Callaghan raised an eyebrow. "You could have easily overpowered him and taken his glider."

A pang of hurt laced through Tadashi's chest at the mention of Hiro's escape. "I couldn't have done that."

Turning up a palm, Callaghan spoke. "Why not? I'm sure he would have understood if you were the Avatar. The bridge between worlds, if you will."

Tadashi's eyebrows knit together. "That's not what it's about. That would have been selfish; I would have been putting someone else below me. No one should even consider it. It is my duty," he paused, considering his words. "It is my duty as the Avatar," _As a brother,_ "To protect anyone."

"Well, if you were planning on sacrificing yourself, perhaps you should have stopped thinking and waterbended at the police in front of the arena so you could have allowed more of the other benders to escape," Callaghan stated, raising his eyebrows skeptically.

Tadashi pursed his lips, breaking eye contact and choosing not to respond. Callaghan continued. "As it is, we were able to apprehend quite a few benders from the arena." Tadashi's nails scraped against the metal of the chair as he clenched his fists. "Several of which may be able to confirm your identity."

Tadashi's spine stiffened as his eyes flashed back up to the officer. He fought to keep his expression neutral, biting his tongue forcefully. Callaghan raised an eyebrow, collecting his papers and moving to stand up. "I'm sure that everything will be in accordance," he stated plainly, his eyes not moving from Tadashi's face. "Also, I spoke with with your brother this morning." Tadashi's entire body contracted as he maintained eye contact. "Hiro seemed to be unaware of your bending abilities. Strange for someone whose parents were both benders and a brother who is the Avatar, wouldn't you think?"

Tadashi swallowed, the words lost in his throat. Hiro was in a world of danger and would be pounced on as soon as Tadashi was proved to have been lying the entire time.

_Oh Tui, please let my brother be smart enough to run._

* * *

**AN: Sorry about the late update! I was on a college visit and was out of wifi for longer than was initially expected. That last scene is my favorite that I've written so far, so hopefully you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for all of you that have reviewed! It really means a lot, and I appreciate your feedback. Until next time!**

**\- emrys-ite**


End file.
